HiSilicon Kirin 980 vs Qualcomm Snapdragon 870

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CPU comparison with benchmarks


HiSilicon Kirin 980 CPU1 vs CPU2 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
HiSilicon Kirin 980 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870

CPU comparison

In this CPU comparison, we compare the HiSilicon Kirin 980 and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 and use benchmarks to check which processor is faster.

We compare the HiSilicon Kirin 980 8 core processor released in Q4/2018 with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 which has 8 CPU cores and was introduced in Q2/2021.
HiSilicon Kirin (29) Family Qualcomm Snapdragon (102)
HiSilicon Kirin 980 (2) CPU group Qualcomm Snapdragon 865/870 (3)
7 Generation 7
Cortex-A76 / Cortex-A55 Architecture Kryo 585
Mobile Segment Mobile
-- Predecessor --
-- Successor --

CPU Cores and Base Frequency

The HiSilicon Kirin 980 is a 8 core processor with a clock frequency of 2.60 GHz. The processor can compute 8 threads at the same time. The Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 clocks with 3.20 GHz, has 8 CPU cores and can calculate 8 threads in parallel.

HiSilicon Kirin 980 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8 Cores 8
8 Threads 8
hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE) Core architecture hybrid (Prime / big.LITTLE)
No Hyperthreading No
No Overclocking ? No
2.60 GHz
2x Cortex-A76
A-Core 3.20 GHz
1x Kryo 585 Prime
1.92 GHz
2x Cortex-A76
B-Core 2.42 GHz
3x Kryo 585 Gold
1.80 GHz
4x Cortex-A55
C-Core 1.80 GHz
4x Kryo 585 Silver

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. Algorithms for ML improve their performance the more data they have collected via software. ML tasks can be processed up to 10,000 times faster than with a classic processor.

HiSilicon Kirin 980 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
-- AI hardware Qualcomm AI engine
-- AI specifications Hexagon 698 @ 15 TOPS

Internal Graphics

Graphics (iGPU) integrated into the processor not only enable image output without having to rely on a dedicated graphics solution, but can also efficiently accelerate video playback.

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 650
0.72 GHz GPU frequency 0.25 GHz
-- GPU (Turbo) 0.67 GHz
Bifrost 3 GPU Generation 6
7 nm Technology 7 nm
2 Max. displays 1
10 Compute units 2
160 Shader 512
No Hardware Raytracing No
No Frame Generation No
4 GB Max. GPU Memory --
12 DirectX Version 12.0

Hardware codec support

A photo or video codec that is accelerated in hardware can greatly accelerate the working speed of a processor and extend the battery life of notebooks or smartphones when playing videos.

ARM Mali-G76 MP10 GPU Qualcomm Adreno 650
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (8 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h265 / HEVC (10 bit) Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec h264 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP9 Decode / Encode
Decode / Encode Codec VP8 Decode / Encode
No Codec AV1 No
Decode / Encode Codec AVC Decode
Decode / Encode Codec VC-1 Decode
Decode / Encode Codec JPEG Decode / Encode

Memory & PCIe

Up to 8 GB of memory in a maximum of 4 memory channels is supported by the HiSilicon Kirin 980, while the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 supports a maximum of 16 GB of memory with a maximum memory bandwidth of 44.0 GB/s enabled.

HiSilicon Kirin 980 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
LPDDR4X-2133 Memory LPDDR5-5500, LPDDR4X-4266
8 GB Max. Memory 16 GB
4 (Quad Channel) Memory channels 4 (Quad Channel)
-- Max. Bandwidth 44.0 GB/s
No ECC No
-- L2 Cache 2.00 MB
2.00 MB L3 Cache 7.00 MB
-- PCIe version --
-- PCIe lanes --
-- PCIe Bandwidth --

Thermal Management

The HiSilicon Kirin 980 has a TDP of 6 W. The TDP of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 is 10 W. System integrators use the TDP of the processor as a guide when dimensioning the cooling solution.

HiSilicon Kirin 980 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
6 W TDP (PL1 / PBP) 10 W
-- TDP (PL2) --
-- TDP up --
-- TDP down --
-- Tjunction max. --

Technical details

The HiSilicon Kirin 980 has 2.00 MB cache and is manufactured in 7 nm. The cache of Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 is at 9.00 MB. The processor is manufactured in 7 nm.

HiSilicon Kirin 980 Characteristic Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
7 nm Technology 7 nm
Chiplet Chip design Chiplet
Armv8-A (64 bit) Instruction set (ISA) Armv8-A (64 bit)
-- ISA extensions --
-- Socket --
None Virtualization None
No AES-NI No
Android Operating systems Android
Q4/2018 Release date Q2/2021
-- Release price --
show more data show more data


Rate these processors

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Here you can rate the Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 to help other visitors make their purchasing decisions. The average rating is 4.3 stars (12 ratings). Rate now:


Average performance in benchmarks

⌀ Single core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks
⌀ Multi core performance in 2 CPU benchmarks

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Single-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The single-core test only uses one CPU core, the amount of cores or hyperthreading ability doesn't count.
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
681 (68%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
996 (100%)

Geekbench 5, 64bit (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 5 is a cross plattform benchmark that heavily uses the systems memory. A fast memory will push the result a lot. The multi-core test involves all CPU cores and taks a big advantage of hyperthreading.
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
2576 (80%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
3240 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The single-core benchmark only evaluates the performance of the fastest CPU core, the number of CPU cores in a processor is irrelevant here.
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
885 (79%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
1121 (100%)

Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)

Geekbench 6 is a benchmark for modern computers, notebooks and smartphones. What is new is an optimized utilization of newer CPU architectures, e.g. based on the big.LITTLE concept and combining CPU cores of different sizes. The multi-core benchmark evaluates the performance of all of the processor's CPU cores. Virtual thread improvements such as AMD SMT or Intel's Hyper-Threading have a positive impact on the benchmark result.
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
2778 (89%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
3110 (100%)

iGPU - FP32 Performance (Single-precision GFLOPS)

The theoretical computing performance of the internal graphics unit of the processor with simple accuracy (32 bit) in GFLOPS. GFLOPS indicates how many billion floating point operations the iGPU can perform per second.
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
ARM Mali-G76 MP10 @ 0.72 GHz
520 (37%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
Qualcomm Adreno 650 @ 0.67 GHz
1418 (100%)

AnTuTu 8 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 8 Benchmark measures the performance of a SoC. AnTuTu benchmarks the CPU, GPU, Memory as well as the UX (User Experience) by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu can benchmark any ARM CPU that runs under Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly compareable if the benchmark has been performed under different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 8 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The evaluation consists of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the RAM and the performance of the internal graphics.
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
412594 (63%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
651364 (100%)

AnTuTu 9 Benchmark

The AnTuTu 9 benchmark is very well suited to measuring the performance of a smartphone. AnTuTu 9 is quite heavy on 3D graphics and can now also use the "Metal" graphics interface. In AnTuTu, memory and UX (user experience) are also tested by simulating browser and app usage. AnTuTu version 9 can compare any ARM CPU running on Android or iOS. Devices may not be directly comparable when benchmarked on different operating systems.

In the AnTuTu 9 benchmark, the single-core performance of a processor is only slightly weighted. The rating is made up of the multi-core performance of the processor, the speed of the working memory, and the performance of the internal graphics.
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
727650 (100%)

Estimated results for PassMark CPU Mark

Some of the CPUs listed below have been benchmarked by CPU-monkey. However the majority of CPUs have not been tested and the results have been estimated by a CPU-monkey’s secret proprietary formula. As such they do not accurately reflect the actual Passmark CPU mark values and are not endorsed by PassMark Software Pty Ltd.
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
6404 (100%)

Performance for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

Processors with the support of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can process many calculations, especially audio, image and video processing, much faster than classic processors. The performance is given in the number (trillions) of arithmetic operations per second (TOPS).
HiSilicon Kirin 980 HiSilicon Kirin 980
8C 8T @ 2.60 GHz
0 (0%)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
8C 8T @ 3.20 GHz
15 (100%)

Devices using this processor

HiSilicon Kirin 980 Qualcomm Snapdragon 870
Huawei P30
Huawei P30 Pro
Huawei Honor 20
Huawei Honor 20 Pro
Huawei Mate 20
Huawei Mate 20 Pro
Huawei Nova 5T
Unknown

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